End Body Shaming!

By Morgan Pantuck

Dec. 30, 2014

Point: End Body Shaming Now!

People don’t like to hear that the media influences their most personal thoughts and feelings, but it’s true. Television, movies, the music industry: everything around us keeps screaming the same harmful message about what counts as an “attractive” or “unattractive” female body. For example, let me tell you about a girl I met named Nyala. Unfortunately, Nyala does not fit our culture’s narrow conception of physical beauty. When I ask my male friends if they would sleep with Nyala, they all respond with something like “Ew! Gross!” or “What? I’m so confused.” Nyala is incredibly majestic and has surprisingly powerful legs, but the media teaches Nyala that she shouldn’t feel beautiful unless she can squeeze herself into one particular, incredibly tiny mold. I say, we must end body-shaming now and accept women of all shapes and sizes!

Counterpoint: That is an Antelope

Listen, I totally get where you’re coming from. You’re absolutely right that culture influences our sexual and romantic preferences. However, that is an antelope. Do you see what the problem is? Yes, all women are beautiful just the way they are, but Nyala is a member of an even-toed ungulate species indigenous to Africa and Eurasia. While I agree that young girls are subject to a merciless media onslaught that devastates their self-esteem, I also have to put my foot down, and point out that Nyala is not, in fact, a human, but rather a hooved member of the family Bovidae. I’m not sure how to state this more clearly. I don’t even think antelopes can feel beautiful or ashamed. So while your basic point is correct, I strongly feel that there are better examples of the media’s negative influence on society. Nyala is not unattractive because she weighs 300 pounds. That’s actually a pretty normal weight for an antelope. She’s unattractive because she’s an antelope.